Native American legends and oral stories record tribal histories. Here we have collected legends from over 300 tribes, along with native American tribal prophecies and the meanings of native American symbols in lore and art. Most tribes have legends for their creation and origin stories about where and how they arrived on the surface of planet Earth.
Every aspect of life, death, and existence has its own story to explain why things are the way they are. Often, different Native American tribes had very similar beliefs, but most tribes have their own unique variations in the details of these legends.
Most native American societies have some sort of trickster figure, who embodies both mischeviousness and foolish acts that teach a valuable lesson, along with acts of bravery and wisdom. In many tribes, the trickster figure is either a coyote or a raven.
Most Native American mythology has some roots in fact.
The Medicine Man is Glooscap, the Good-Spirit. Legend has it that the father of Glooscap is a being who lives under a great waterfall beneath the earth. His face is half-red, and he has a single all- seeing eye. He…
Since the Indian hunting horse had different duties than that of a war horse, a different set of symbols were used to aid the hunting horse and his rider. Designed to help the Indian hunter in finding the buffalo herd,…
While the symbols used and their meanings varied from tribe to tribe, there were some common symbols that were widely used on the Indian war horse. In this article, you will find explanations of some symbols which Indians used to decorate their war horses.
, the Daughters, You are the keepers of the water. I am Nibi… water.. the sacred source, the blood of Aki, Mother Earth, the force filling dry seeds to great bursting. I am the wombs cradle. I purify.Â
Boosoo (Hello). My son, wolves were referred to as the guardian of our spirits. Wolves are free spirits even though their packs are very organized. A lone wolf is rarely found in the wild. Wolves are social creatures like you…
James Mooney, an ethnologist with the Bureau of American Ethnology, was sent to investigate the Ghost Dance movement in 1891. He obtained a copy of Wovoka’s message from a Cheyenne named Black Short Nose, who had been part of a…